Arsenal transfer news: Higuain edging closer and Rooney

Gonzalo Higuain’s brother has confirmed that the Argentine striker is close to joining to Arsenal, with Juventus unlikely to challenge for the Real Madrid player’s signature after completing the signing of Carlos Tevez from Manchester City.

Nicolas Higuain did not rule out a move from Napoli, who might hope that Real Madrid’s interest in Edinson Cavani will help them in negotiations for Higuain, but Arsenal now seem almost certain to win the race for the striker.

“Napoli are a strong team. Having said that, I cannot deny that Gonzalo is now close to Arsenal.”

One striker who could be leaving Arsenal this summer is 21-year-old Joel Campbell, with West Ham and Crystal Palace keen on a loan move for the youngster. Campbell has spent the last two seasons on loan, at Lorient and then at Real Betis last year, where he made 28 league appearances. Betis are interested in securing Campbell for another season, but Arsenal might bring him back to the Premier League to gain some first team experience of English football if there is a suitable offer.

Rumours persist that Arsenal are hoping to bring in Wayne Rooneyalongside Higuain this summer, with Arsene Wenger set to adjust his formation slightly to accommodate both strikers in a central role. Rooney is set to hold talks with David Moyes about his future in the near future, and could be sold this summer with Arsenal and PSG linked with the England international.

Rooney could be brought to the Emirates to play just behind Higuain, although that would run the risk of limiting Santi Cazorla’s role in the team after an excellent debut season where he often played in a central advanced role. While Rooney is an excellent player, it would be surprising if Arsenal were prepared to smash their record transfer fee and wage structure again this summer after a move for HIguain, especially for someone they do not seem desperately in need of.

Nick Harris

I'm Nick Harris, Spurs fan and sports writer. Alongside HITC, I'm the founder, editor, writer, and fan of footballspirals.com and can be found on Twitter - @nicksharris. When I'm not watching sport I'm usually drinking coffee and checking updates on my phone in an antisocial manner.